Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Sunshine Award- Thanks to Matt Renwick (@ReadByExample)

Two weeks ago, I was nominated for a Sunshine Award by Matt Renwick (@ReadByExample). I appreciate the acknowledgement and will do my best to live up to the shoutout. I first met Matt, a fellow #WiAmigo, at a Principal's conference in Wisconsin. Matt, Curt Rees (@curtrees), Jessica Johnson (@PrincipalJ), and I presented on the use of Twitter, YouTube, Google apps, and blogging to a group of fellow administrators. We had an hour to share our ideas and encouraged the attendees to move from spot to spot to learn what they wanted. It was our attempt at offering a choice and a little bit like an EdCamp experience as we learned from one another. I think it was well received. Matt was in charge of sharing about blogging so it doesn't surprise me that he jumped at the chance to blog and offer his own Sunshine Award. Here is a description of the Sunshine Award started by Ben Gilpin (@benjamingilpin).The Sunshine award gives others an opportunity to learn more about me as a blogger and then, in turn, I will send sunshine the way of 11 other amazing bloggers for you to get to know.

Here are the rules Ben lists in his post.Acknowledge the nominating blogger.Share 11 random facts about yourself.Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. (You cannot mominate the blogger who nominated you.)
Here are my 11 random facts.
1. I am married to an awesome woman (Jenifer, with one "n") who keeps me grounded when I get too big for my britches.
2. Jen and I have a wonderful 13 year old daughter who keeps us on our toes with all of her dancing.
3. My daughter attends the school where I am principal. She's in 8th grade and lets me know if I'm doing a good job.
4. When I was a teacher, I also coached high school and middle school sports. I coached basketball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, cross country, and wrestling.
5. I used to coach softball in Land O'Lakes, WI and got to coach against Yankee great Tony Kubek.
6. I taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades during my teaching career. I taught 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies and 8th grade Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science.
7. I love to fish and golf in order to relax. Being in the outdoors is what matters and not whether I'm successful fishing or golfing.
8. I believe I am addicted to technology and what it has to offer our students and staff. I often need to be reminded to power down, especially by my wife and daughter.
9. I was born in Connecticut and have lived in Indiana (Kokomo and Lafayette), Kentucky (Louisville), and Wisconsin (Waukesha, New Berlin, and Merton).
10. I worked at an ice cream stand in Land O'Lakes for three summers to help put myself through college.
11. I have run every day since August 30th of 1987 (Currently 9640 days in a row).

Here are my answers to the 11 questions Matt posed.
#1. What songs/bands are on your favorite playlist right now?I don't have any playlists, but I currently have Pink and Lynyrd Skynyrd on my favorite stations in iheartradio.
#2. What book would you recommend that you own in multiple formats (print, digital, and/or audio)?I don't have any books in multiple formats at this moment, but my favorite book is "Shifting the Monkey" by Todd Whitaker.
#3. Apple or Microsoft?Chromebook. We are a GAFE school and I wouldn't trade my Chromebook for anything.
#4. "If I could live in any country other than my own..."I would live in Canada. I have connected with many great educators in Canada and I love to fish!
#5. "When I am not thinking about school, I am..."thinking about how I can be a better husband and father.
#6. Who is the most important person(s) in your life right now"My wife Jenifer and daughter Lauren are the most important people in my life right now.
#7. "If I could meet anyone..."I would want to meet Coach Bob Knight. He was in inspiration to me when I was a high school coach and I admired his ability to get the most out of his players and coaching staff.
#8. "During the holidays..."I got to inbox zero! It helped that the district moved from Groupwise to Gmail so that I could start over.
#9. What will be your 2014 new year's resolution?I want to get to know the Merton students and staff and allow them to get to know me better, too.
#10. "If I wasn't an educator, I would..."probably not be as happy as I am today. I love what I do for a living!
#11. "On Fridays, I like wearing..."jeans and school spirit wear. The staff in Merton jokes that I will have a t-shirt made for just about any reason.
I have decided to put a twist on choosing 11 bloggers. Each of the individuals listed below are teachers in Merton. Some have started their own blogs and some have their students blogging. My hope is that each of these great Merton teachers will take on the challenge of blogging so that everyone can learn more about them.
Julie Reuter (@jgbluedevil)
Heidi Jones (@MrsJones_Merton)
John Rheineck (@rheineckj)
Mary Shannon (@shannonm)
Mike Budisch (@headlearner)
Linda Kircher (@Livethelove)
Sarah Kasprowicz (@SarahKasprowicz)
Mary Iwanski (@maryiwanski)
Matt Pomeroy (@Physed_Pomeroy)
Katie Francoeur (@MsFrancoeur)
Sarah Luberda (@sluberda_physed)
Now here are my 11 questions.
#1. What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
#2. If you could be anyone other than yourself, who would that be?
#3. What one thing are you most proud of?
#4. If you could change one thing about education, what would it be and why?
#5. When you have one hour to yourself, what do you like to do?
#6. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go and why?
#7. If you won the lottery today, what would be the first thing you did?
#8. If you could start your own school from scratch, what would be the three things you must have to make sure the students are successful?
#9. What book(s) are you reading now and why?
#10. How would you like your friends to describe you?
#11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?